Ejecting device for collapsible tubes



- 'June 11, 1957 DE LEON TSCHUMY EJECTING DEVICE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES- Filed April 3, 1956 IIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR. 05150 mam/ Y A 77'02/V5 Y5 nited States PatentO EJECTING DEVICE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES De Leon Tschumy, Galveston, Tex.

Application April 3, 1956, Serial No. 575,831 2 Claims. (Cl. 222-95 to the walls of the tube for the purpose of forcing the,

tube contents out of the neck thereof. In accordance with the present invention, however, said means is so' designed as to provide a particularly improved ejecting action, which will be characterized by its simplicity, of operation, and low cost.

Another object is to provide a device of'the nature referred to whichwill include a follower having a tube- 30 tive in applying a squeezing pressure to opposed.wa1ls.

receiving aperture so formed as to be particularly effecof the tube, while at the same time flattening the tube,

so far as is concerned that portion of the tube from which the contents have already been forced.

Another object is to provide a device of the nature referred to which will eliminate rollers, and various other heretofore used pressure devices, with the movement longitudinally of the casing being imparted to the follower responsive merely to a pulling pressure exerted on a yoke-like handle disposed exteriorly of the casing.

Another object is to provide a device of the nature referred to which will constitute a dispensing device combined with a package for the collapsible tube, with the tube and dispensing device being disposable following exhaustion of the tube contents. In this way, it is proposed to eliminate the necessity of providing the usual, printed cardboard package for a collapsible tube, such as a tube of tooth paste, since the dispensing device takes the place of said tube carton, and may itself be imprinted with suitable material, similar to that presently provided upon the tooth paste carton. Further, by reason of the construction illustrated, it is proposed to eliminate the.

necessity of printing upon the tube, as is presently done, since the tube remains wholly within'the'dispensing device casing, so that it therefore need not be printed. In this way, it is proposed to eliminate the duplicate printing now involved when the tube and its associated carton are printed in the usual way.

Another object" of importance is to provide a dispensing device of the naturereferredto which, when used" as' a disposable means substituted for the tube-enclosing carton now used, will be adapted to occupy no more space than is presently required by the carton, so as to facilitate packing for shipment, storage, etc.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a dispensing device formed in, accordance with the present invention, as it appears immediately prior to its first use;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the 'ease I Patented June 11, 1957 device, with the tube being partially exhausted of its contents; and

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on line 3--3 of Figure 2.

The reference numeral 10 generally designates the dispensing device constituting the present invention. This may be formed of plastic or other inexpensive material so as to facilitate its manufacture as a single use, disposable item.

.The dispensing device includes a casing generally designated at 12, formed open at one end and closed at said open end by a removable cap generally designated at 14.

The casing 12, at its closed end, has a thick end wall 16 and along the top of the casing, the end wall '16 ispartially cut away to provide a shallow recess 18 for a purpose to be made presently apparent.

A top. wall and a bottom wall 22 are extended in parallel relation, and are of flat, wide construction as shown in Figure 3. Integrally connected between the sides of the top and bottom walls are side walls 24, also of flat,

wide formation, thus providing a cavity of rectangular cross sections within the casing, said cavity being closed at one end by end wall 16 and being formed open at its other end.

Within the side walls 24, there are formed elongated, longitudinal slots 26, said slots being closed at one end,

B with the inner. ends of the slots being disposed substantially flush with the inner surfaces of the end walls 16, and the outer ends of the slots being disposed inwardly from the open end of the casing.

-A handle, 28 is of inverted U-shape, so as to constitute a yoke embracing the casing as shown in Figure 3. The

bight portion of the handle extends across the top of the casing, with the legs extending along opposite sides thereof.

Formed in the legs of the yoke are openings 30, receiviing reduced extensions 32 of circular lugs 34 integrally or otherwise rigidly connected to oppoiste sides of a rectangular follower 36. The follower 36 is slidably mounted in the cavity of the casing, so that when the V handle 28 is swung upon the extensions 32 to the Figure 2 position thereof, it can be used to shift the follower toward the open end of the casing.

The follower has a forwardly opening, tapering throat 38 merging adjacent the back wall of the follower into a horizontally extending, elongated slot 39.

A collapsible tube has been generally designated at 40, and is basically of conventional construction, said tube including a body 42 provided at one end with a reversely folded lip 44 which is permanently embedded in the material of the end wall 16 during the manufacture of the collapsible tube and of the dispensing device. The tube 40, at its opposite ends, has the usual removable cap 45, and the cover 14 of the casing includes a peripheral flange 46 engaging the open end portion of the casing body, in covering relation to the cap 45 of the collapsible tube.

Due to the construction illustrated and described, it is not necessary to print any material upon the tube itself, or: apply labels, etc. thereto. of manufacture of the collapsible tube considerably, since it may simply have a plain metal surface. Further, it is not necessary in the manufacture of the device to provide the usual paper or light cardboard carton for the individual collapsible tubes. Such cartons themselves represent a considerable expense, and must be printed separately from the collapsible tubes, thus adding to the cost of producing and selling the product.

Instead, with the tube left plain, the dispensing device constitutes the individual packing carton for the collapsible tube, and may be imprinted on its outer surface to provide for trademark identification, etc.

With the dispensing device constituting the carton in This reduces the expense aromas-e which the tube is merchandized, the end product is provided at relatively low cost, having, nevertheless, important advantages not found in an ordinary collapsible tube and. associated .carton.

The important advantages derive from the'fact that the container or carton in which the tube is 'sold'is-provided with a means for ejecting the tube contents. Here or no greater than that. required .by av conventional paper' carton for. a collapsible .tube. This facilitates storage as well. as shipment..

When the device is to be used, the lid 14 is removed, as is the ,cap 45, and. the'handle 28 is swung forwardly, so as to. be-shiftable longitudinally of the casing for the purpose of advancing thefolloweru36n As the follower advances, it applies a squeezingpressure to the walls of the tube, flattening the tube as shown in Figure-2. as it advancespandinsuring theejection of the contents easily and. completely.

The. particular shapeof the throat and. the slot 39' aids in thisparticular operational characteristic, since the .top. and. bottom walls of the throat, diverging forwardly, provide cam surfaces bearing against the top and bottomwalls of thetube. Further, the top and hottorntsurfaces of; the slot shape the tube to a flat condition rearwardly of ,the follower as shown in Figure 2.

When. the follower: nears. the front end of the tube, the handle 28 can be swung back to its opposite extreme position, but. canstill be used to advantage in shifting the follower to the. front end of the tube, until a maximum amount of the, tube contents has been removed, after which the entire devicev is disposed .of.

In some forms, itmay be. desired to use the device over and over again, that is, it may be desired that the device not be of a disposable nature. In such an instance, the lipped end 44 of the tube, instead of being permanently engaged. in the end. wall 16, would be anchored detachably therein, as, for. example by a gate means and lip-engaging flange, not shown, which gate means would be movably mounted upon the casing for movement into and out of engagement with thelipped end 44 of the collapsible tube..

It is believed apparent that the invention is'not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof de-- scribed above, since it may be utilized for any purposeto which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limitedto the. specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it

being considered that the invention comprehends any rniuor change in construction that may be permitted withm the scope of the appended claims. a

The overall What is claimed is:

l. A dispensing device fora collapsible tube comprising an elongated casing formed open at one end, said casing including means at its opposite end for engaging the closed end of a collapsible tube, thus to anchor said tube against movement relative to the casing with the tube extending in the casing and having its open end disposed at the open end of the casing, the casing including opposed sidewalls formed with longitudinal slots; a follower mounted in the casing for movement l0ngitudinally thereof, said follower including a centrally disposed throat tapering toward the, back face of the follower for applying squeezing pressure to a tube extending through said throat, the follower having a horizontal, transversely extending slot communicating with the smaller end of the throat and opening upon the back face of the follower for flattening the tube following exhaustion of the contents therefrom; and a U-shaped handle disposed exteriorly of and embracing the casing, said handlezincluding legs disposed in engagement with the slotted side walls of the casing, the follower-having trunnions projecting outwardly through the slots of said side walls with the legs pivoting upon said trunnions, for swinging movement of the handle upon the trunnions between inopera tive and operative positions.

2. A dispensing device for a collapsible tube comprising an elongated casing formed open at one end, said casing including means at its opposite end for engaging the closed end of a collapsible tube, thus to anchor said tube against movement relative. to the casing with the tube extending in the casing and having its open end disposed at the open end of the casing, the casing including opposed side walls formed with longitudinal slots; a follower mounted in the casing for movement longitudinally thereof, said follower including a centrally disposed throat tapering toward the back face of the follower for applying squeezing pressure to a tube extending through said throat, the follower having a horizontal, transversely extending slot communicating with the smaller end of the throat and opening upon the back face of the follower for flattening the tube following exhaustion of the. contents therefrom; and a U-shaped handle disposed exteriorly of and embracing the casing, said handle including legs disposed in engagement with theslotted side wallsof the casing, the follower having trunnions projecting outwardly through the slots of said side walls with the legs pivoting upon said trunnions, for swinging movement of the handle upon the trunnions between inoperative and operative positions, the casing having at the closed end thereof a transverse, shallow recess receiving the handle in the inoperative position thereof. wherebyto confine the handle within the cross sectional area .of: the casing to permit use of the casing as a packing carton for said tube, to be disposed of with the tube following exhaustion of the tube contents.

References; Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,655,410 Bullock .,Jan. 10, 1928 1,979,105 Hamish Oct. 30, 1934 2,083,603 Hal-wick June 15,v 1937 2,762,525 Quasebarth Sept. 11, 1956 

